The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-30
ANNOYING THE GARDENERS
The Police Called Upon Twice Yester-
day for Protection from Assaults.
A Car Thrown from the Track Last Night by
Crowd on South Meridian Street
Trouble on the West Side.

There were several attempts yesterday west
of the river to harass the street-car company by
annoying the drivers and spiking the turn tables.
1t is claimed by the company that the strikers
responsible for these acts. They seem to
have been committed by men who think they
are by this means advancing the interests of the
strikers One driver in that section of the city
greeted with the epithet of "scab." He
holly retorted, when three men started toward
the car to pull him off. The driver not
to be easily overcome. and, after q scuffie, the
men left him. No arrests were made, but this,
with the spiking of the rn-tables, caused the
superintendent of police to send squad of
patrolmen into that quarter In the eastern
part of the city, along Washington street, where
it was thought possible interference would be
attempted, nothing occurred to disturb the seren-
ity of the drivers, except the occasional cry of
sscab"
The drivers on the South Meridian street line
were subjected to many insults last night AT
the lower end Of the street a crowd Of mon sta
toned themselves along the sidewalks and
tainted every driver that passed The car
driven by Beck Lowe reached the turn-table
little after 10 o'clock. and large crowd was
there, threatening violence to the "scab'
drivers, as they were termed. The car started
gone more than half a square when rock was
thrown through a window from the sidewalk. 1t
barely missed the lady. The was stopped
and ten or fifteen men took charge of it. Some
of then held the mules while the others put the
car off the track and il ont to the side of the
street. The driver sounded his police whis tie.
and as soon as the officers began to arrive the
men dispersed. The officers put the car back on
the track and went with it to the stable. No
more were run on that line after that hour.
The men who made the attack on the car were
not strikers.
There was no addition to the ranks of the
strikers, although the executive board thinks it
probable the persuasions and loyalty to the
order may yet bring out all the knights. But
the latter who remain at work-and they are
ABOUT fifty strong-say that their appeal to Pow
derby will lead to action that will no doubt
sustain them in their claim that the strike is
illegal. This appeal will set forth four griev-
ances, one that they as knights were not form
ally notified that the strike was to occur. The
men, or the committee representing them, ex-
planned one of the protesting knights demand
ed of Colonel johnson an increase of cents.
which would make the price 20 cents an hour.
They gave him until the next day to consider 1t.
he could not and would not give the
price asked. The discontinued drivers waited
until the next day, and among them were but
few Knights OF Labor Colonel Johnson reIter-
ated his refusal. and that night they determined
to strike. The few Knights concerned made no
effort to have their assembly take the matter up.
but went out. Directly after this many of the
strikers who were not Knights were initia ted
into the order, and to make the matter worse
far as any Equalization of the strike is con-
cerned, they made the demand for an increase of
wages after reducing it from 20 to l6 cents. sec
ondary to lot of grievances Colonel john
son was willing to consider the grievances and
offered to hold the question of increase
of wages under consideration il the
strike would cease. He would grant
advance while the strike was on but few
hot-heads the executive board pushed the
matter through to ordering out all the Knights.
an order which fifty of have not obeyed We
do not expect to have Powderly to personally at
tend to the matter. 1t will be submitted to the
national executive board. and by that an investi-
CATION of the trouble will doubt be ordered"
The executive board of the district assembly
will send communication to Colonel Johnson
to-day, in which he will be informed that the
strike is to be enlarged TO make the APP
pointment OK conductors a sine qua non of set
Element. Yesterday the company had fifty five
cars in operation. and is inclined to think the
strike is over